Wait Who's My Mother?
by RMVthewriter
Summary: Jon always wanted to know who his mother was, or did he? How will the world change now that Jon knows the "truth"? One-Shot. Was a Crack!Fic, but now it's more of a character study.


"When I come back, I'll tell you about your mother." His father promised him. Finally, a bit of hope entered his life. His mother! He'd only have to wait however long Eddard Stark would stay in King's Landing, and the truth would finally be his.

"Did you love her?" Jon Snow tried to gain at least some information before they parted. The wall would be a cold place, but maybe the information about his mother could warm him. His father smiled sadly.

"Yes. Very much."

"Ned, come on! We don't have all day!" The robust King Robert shouted to his best friend. Ned smirked at the remark and gave Jon a pat on the shoulder before riding away, leaving Jon to imagine the day when he'd finally find out who his mother was.

And then his father came right back with a slightly worried look.

"Actually, considering everything I know about what's happening in King's Landing right now, I might not return. So, I'll just tell you now."

"O-Okay!" Jon jumped at the chance, not expecting it so soon. His father leaned over and whispered in his ear.

"Your mother was Lyanna Stark and-"

"Don't make your King wait any longer Ned!" Robert Baratheon demanded. Eddard gave Jon one last firm grip on the shoulder.

"I'm sure you have questions, but we'll talk when I come back." And with that, Ned, Robert, and the entire royal procession made their way from Winterfell forever.

"Lyanna Stark." Jon repeated the name, trying to comprehend it. "Huh. My aunt's name was Lyanna St-" A suddenly realization hit Jon like a punch in the face from Hodor. "Eddard Stark had a child with his own sister!?"

* * *

The journey to the wall was somber, but Jon was in his own little world the entire time. The information about his mother was so unbelievable, yet it came from the most believable source. He wanted to believe this was all a joke, but his father rarely joked- much less about Lyanna.

It took half the journey northward for the bastard of incest to wrap his mind around the concept, but when he did, many things all seemed to line up. Of course Ned was hesitant to tell him about his mother. If the truth got out, the King would have Jon, Ned, and the entire Stark family killed. Jon's age also lined up as well. Robert's Rebellion only lasted about a year, and if Jon was conceived the last time Ned and his sister were together, at Harrenhal presumably, that would make Jon just slightly older than his brother Robb, with Lyanna being pregnant the whole time she was kidnapped.

And the more Jon thought about it, the more abnormal parts of his father's story were solved by this revelation as well. Why would the Kingsguard be protecting Lyanna Stark instead of Rhaegar Targaryen? Well, Rhaegar raped her and surely thought Jon was his own child, so he sent the Kingsguard to protect his future interests. The bastard didn't know how to process the idea that Rhaegar quite possibly considered him to be his son, but he and his Kingsguard that knew were all dead, so it didn't really matter.

With the history sorted, Jon's mind turned to more important issues. Namely, that Honorable Eddard Stark fell in love with his own sister, had a baby with her, and that incest baby was him, Jon Snow. If one thing was certain, it was that his mother must have been the most beautiful woman in the entire Kingdom. Rhaegar kidnapped and raped her, Robert Baratheon fought an entire rebellion for her, and unbeknownst to the both of them, her own brother had already impregnated her.

"You seem troubled, bastard." Tyrion Lannister spoke, jolting Jon out of his thoughts. The group had set up camp for the day, with Uncle Benjen hunting game and the prisoners far away from the fire.

"Yes, I suppose I am." Jon admitted, though he didn't know why. To this, Tyrion smiled.

"You weren't offended by my calling you bastard. I see you've taken my advice." The dwarf analyzed, though he wasn't exactly correct.

"There are worse things to be called." Like "abomination" or "freak" or whatever people called the Targaryens behind their backs.

"That's one way to look at it. But tell me, what's on your mind?" The bastard took a moment to consider the offer. He still wasn't completely sure of the implications of being born from incest, but Tyrion seemed rather intelligent. He was either reading or drinking- usually doing both at once.

"What do you know about children born from incest?" Jon inquired. Tyrion, who had gone to take a swig of his wine, nearly choked.

"Why? Have you… seen anything?" The little man asked suspiciously.

"Uh… no." At that, Tyrion's mood turned around.

"Good! Well, the most prominent and recent example of incestuous relations can be seen with the Targaryens. The saying goes that when a new Targaryen is born, the gods flip a coin. One side for greatness, one side for madness. Many maesters agree, that children born from a sibling's union are more likely to suffer 'madness' than others. Though, this usually also depends on the situation in which the child is placed."

"So all incestuous child go mad?" Jon tried to grasp the concept. Was he to go mad too, like the Targaryens before him? If so, he might as well have been Rhaegar's child.

"No no no. Not all Lan- Targaryens born from incest were mad. Like… Uh…" The Lannister took a moment longer to think. "Okay, if I'm being honest, I can't think of any notable Targaryens that we're both great and born of incest, but there were plenty that didn't rule and turned out just fine. Which, I suppose, proves the point about the situation in which the person is placed."

"Right." Well, Jon wasn't ever going to be King or anything, so maybe he still had hope. Tyrion muttered something about crazy blondes, but Jon didn't catch it.

* * *

Tyrion Lannister proved to be a surprisingly constant companion as Jon integrated himself with the Night's Watch. The dwarf was the smartest person Jon had ever met, and his knowledge on people could not be understated. He gave Jon a new perspective when he explained the plight of the others at the watch, actually allowing the bastard to make some friends in the Watch.

All this together, led to their moment alone on the Wall, as Tyrion finished pissing off it.

"You know, you're nothing like the Lannisters my father always described." Jon admitted.

"Thank you," Tyrion took it as a compliment. "I'd say you're the only Stark who doesn't look at me with barely hidden loathing."

"I'm not a Stark." Jon instantly corrected.

"Regardless," The Lannister cut in. "I suppose this makes us friends, Bastard." He peeled off a glove and reached out his hand. Jon didn't take long to follow suit.

"That it does, Dwarf." They shared a smile atop the Wall, as the wind momentarily abated.

When they both put their gloves back on, Tyrion decided to instantly put their friendship to the test.

"Well friend, I have to ask before I depart. What about incest fascinated you so much?"

"I don't have a fascination with incest." He denied

"Did you bed one of your half sisters before leaving for the Watch?"

"No no no! It's nothing like that!" Jon defended himself.

"But it is something." The Lannister caught him in the lie.

"I… It's a secret. One that could tear apart the whole realm." The Stark bastard confessed. Tyrion raised an eyebrow.

"What a coincidence. I happen to have an incest-related secret that could tear apart the whole realm as well."

"You do?" Jon clearly didn't believe him. The dwarf did lent immediately answer him, instead turning to look back out into the True North.

"It's an interesting predicament we find ourselves in. The forgotten sons of two powerful Lords, alone together on the Wall. We could say anything here, any secrets that weigh down our soul, and what would change? I know no one would believe a Stark Bastard with my secret, and if we indeed had different secrets, I doubt anyone would believe the Dwarf of Casterly Rock with yours." Tyrion turned back to his new friend. "Would you like to make that exchange?"

"You go first." Jon still wasn't certain.

"King Robert has no rightful children. The royal children are all the result of Cersei and Jaime. They've been fucking since they were kids." At the coincidence, Jon couldn't help but chuckle.

"Mine's… Actually similar." Tyrion gave him a crooked smile.

"Similar? Oh, now I must hear this." The dwarf insisted. The bastard took a deep breath and complied.

"I am the son of Eddard Stark-"

"I know." The Lannister cut in, but Jon continued anyway.

"And Lyanna Stark. They conceived me sometime before Lyanna was kidnapped by Rhaegar."

"B- Tha- That's means Robert's Rebellion was built on a lie!"

"Quite the secret, yeah?" Jon stated. The heir to Casterly Rock pranced around, toying with the idea in his mind.

"The honorable Eddard Stark… Everyone assumed he fought to get his sister back, but no! He fought to get his lover back! Ha!" He paused. "So is this why you were asking about incest on the journey here?" Jon nodded and Tyrion got serious for a moment. "Look, we cannot hold ourselves to the mistakes of our parents. What your father did, what my siblings did, these were undoubtedly mistakes- even if you can't help who you love- but you are not. I love Tommen and Myrcella because they're my family, regardless of who their father is. Admittedly, Joffrey has lost my love, but that has more to do with Cersei's parenting than anything else. What I'm trying to say is, don't hold this against yourself. The beauty of the Night's Watch is that anyone can be raised high here, and if it wasn't for the celibacy, I'd have half a mind to join as well. Live your life to the fullest, Jon Snow. I'm sure we'll meet again."

"You're a true friend, Tyrion Lannister. I'm sure we will too."

* * *

It was not long after Tyrion left and Jon was sworn in as a steward to the Lord Commander that things went wrong. Apparently, the dead could walk now, and they had a penchant for murder. That most likely meant the White Walkers were real, which led to a grand ranging North of the Wall, both to find out the truth of this mystery, and to stop the King Beyond the Wall, Mance Rayder, from threatening the South.

Jon, trying to make his place in the Watch, volunteered to join Qorin Halfhand to try and range even further… But considering his current position marching in Mance's Army, the ranging clearly hadn't gone well. The bastard worried for the Watch, for Jorah Mormont- who had given him a Valyrian Steel Sword- and especially for Sam Tarly- his closest friend on the Wall. But most of all, Jon Snow worried for his honor, and the fact that he was about to break his vows for the sake of cover.

"Ygritte, I-"

"What? Am I not pretty enough for you, Jon Snow?" The red-headed Wildling asked. "I know you're not gonna say shit about those 'vows' you swore, 'cause you're a free man now."

"No no, I…" Jon was in a bind. Qorin told him to do whatever necessary to protect the Watch- even breaking his vows- but the Stark Bastard never thought it would come to this. He needed an excuse. "I'm a Bastard."

"So? I've already told you we Free Folk don't give a damn-"

"Of incest." Jon revealed the secret he refused to think about for months since Tyrion Lannister had left the Wall. "My mother is my father's sister. What do the Free Folk say about an Abomination like that?"

He thought that his revelation would disgust the woman. He thought that she would finally stop her endless pursuit of him. But instead, she just uttered those five words.

"You know nothing, Jon Snow." Ygritte laughed. "Is that why you're always brooding all the time? You think you're an abomination?" Jon didn't answer, confused on where she was going. "The Free Folk don't really encourage incest, but we don't really give a shit either. When Winter comes, you get warm with whoever you can. Of course, sex with your children is not okay- Craster's a real freak- but we still don't care about the child. Did you make your parents fuck? No! So why should I give a shit who made you?"

Despite Ygritte's less than sophisticated word choice, Jon was touched. The wildlings may have been a backwards people in some aspects, but he knew the people of Westeros would ever be as accepting of his parentage as Ygritte was here. Tyrion tried to tell him this previously, but perhaps the lesson stuck better when it was a pretty lady telling it to him.

Gods… It didn't matter! The sins of the father did not pass to the son. He wasn't a bad person for having parents that were siblings, nor was he bad for having unmarried parents. Whatever the sins of Eddard and Lyanna Stark were, they didn't apply to Jon Snow.

"If anything, I should thank your parents for making such a pretty boy out of you." Ygritte continued, completely unaware of Jon's inner revelation. "And besides, I've seen Thenns. If there's anybody to call an abomination, it would be-" The girl blessed by fire was unable to finish her sentence, as Jon took her lips with his and pressed their bodies together.

Eagerly, he descended into the madness of broken vows and passion. Unknowingly, Ygritte had given Jon the one thing he desired more than all else in the world. Acceptance.

And she was just beautiful for it.

* * *

"You could have just lied!" Daenerys criticized him. So much had changed since his days in Ygritte's arms, too much to even recount. Right now, though, he was being chided by the last living Targaryen for failing to negotiate a peace with the Lannister so they could focus on killing the Night King.

"I lived a lie the majority of my life, your grace. I can't do it any longer." Jon admitted, looking around the ancient stone dragon pit.

"What do you mean?" Daenerys prodded as expected. Jon took a deep breath. He didn't know what drew him to this woman, but he was drawn to her nonetheless. He had only ever told two people his secret, and one of them was dead. Now, she would be a third.

"Right before my father went off to Kong's Landing, he revealed my mother's name to me." He paused. "Lyanna Stark." Dany's eyes shot wide open.

"You're Rhaegar's son?!"

"No. I'm Eddard Stark's son." The dragon queen furrowed her brow.

"But that means…"

"That my father and mother were siblings." The Bastard finished for her. "My entire life, I was raised as inferior to the Stark children, but the truth was far worse. I am the foil to Robert's Rebellion, a monster in the sight of the gods." Jon shook his head of the negativity. "I used to let that get to me, but a wildling girl and Tyrion showed me a better way. In a better world, there would be no lies, and in a perfect world, I wouldn't exist. But even still, I don't lie. Because I want that better world. If not for me, than for the rest of humanity. We must defeat the White Walkers, but not with lies. Not with lies…" Daenerys Targaryen remained silent for a few moments after his speech, and he wondered if he had said too much, but her sudden coy smile told him otherwise.

"I think you forget, Jon Snow. My father and mother were siblings as well. We're not so different, you and I. I lived my entire life on the run, just one step ahead from the Usurper's blades. In your perfect world, I would not exist either."

"And yet here we are." Jon declared, noting more than ever his queen's curves. She gave him another smile.

"And yet here we are."

* * *

Tyrion managed to salvage the situation Jon had caused, making the operation a success. They could kill the Night King without worry from the Lannisters. Truly, things were looking up.

And perhaps it was that sense of victory that possessed Jon to knock on Daenerys' cabin door that night, but whatever it was, she let him inside, and they embraced unlike ever before. Both had had previous lovers, but this was something different. Finally he had not only someone who accepted, but also understood.

Once in Winterfell, he happily reunited with his siblings, and despite the oncoming undead horde, Jon Snow felt joy. Somehow, Bran had figured out who Jon's true parents were along with Sam, but Jon calmly admitted that he had known for a while now, and the conversation ended at that.

Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen faces the White Walkers as lovers, and the Song of Ice and Fire was realized.

* * *

"Jon. There's been a misunderstanding." Bran stated calmly from his wheelchair, decades later. The Night King had been defeated, Cersei and Euron were ousted from power, and the Seven Kings united once more under Queen Daenerys Targaryen and King Jon Snow. Despite the witch's curse, the Targaryen-Snow marriage bore fruit, and five white and black haired sons and daughters roamed the realm. Truly, Jon Snow had lived a good life.

"What is it, Bran?" King Jon asked. The years were kind to him, but now in his late sixties, he was finally starting to slow down. Bran, somehow, still looked thirty.

"I finally went back and looked at what Father told you about your parentage. He was cut off before he could finish. You're not the son of Eddard Stark and Lyanna Stark. You're the true born son of Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark. Daenerys is your aunt."

In another world, at another time, this news would have shook Jon Snow to the core. He would have been unable to look Daenerys in the eyes, he would have rejected her advances. But instead, King Jon Snow just chuckled.

"Well… Isn't that ironic?"

* * *

That night, he told his wife, and they shared a laugh.

And all was good in Westeros.

* * *

**So this idea originally started as a crack!fic, but as you can tell, that didn't go as planned. Instead, it ended up as something of a character study. What if Jon Snow had even more emotional baggage than he had in the show? In the end, things work out well. Or so I think they would. Feel free to tell me what you think would change in a review. I'd love to hear your ideas.**

**Anyway, if you're a viewer of my content, then you know that I've recently cancelled all of my other work besides New Game Plus. I'll talk more about it when I get out the next chapter, but the long and short of it is time. I just don't have enough of it. Hopefully, that chapter will come out soon, but no promises.**

**Until next time,**

**-RMV**


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